The free agency period officially began at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday. Before 1:30 p.m., Veldheer had already sent out tweets thanking Raiders coaches and fans, and he changed his Twitter avatar to the Cardinals logo.

Thank you #raidernation for 4 great years. You guys are awesome. I was blessed that Mr. Davis brought me into your community.

Veldheer, 26, played four seasons with the Raiders, and was a starter for most of them. A third-round pick out of Hillsdale, the 6-foot-8, 321-pound tackle played in five games last season due to a torn triceps tendon suffered in the preseason.

According to ProFootballFocus.com, though, Veldheer was “knocking on the door of the top-tier guys” prior to the injury. He is their fourth-highest rated free agent — third-highest rated free agent tackle, coming in behind Eugene Monroe and Branden Albert.